What's In a Name
by Cody the Kirby
Summary: Sometimes a name can be more than just a name. It's a concept that Twilight has been thinking on, and she's come to some interesting conclusions.


Twilight sighed at her desk, frowning as her eyes looked at the blank paper in front of her. Why she was doing this, she didn't know. She could have chosen any other topic, but no, she chose this one. It was a topic that many would scoff at, yet it was one that, for some unknown reason, she just couldn't leave alone. She could have dropped it, moved on to another topic, and yet, there was some yearning to figure it out. Why was she torturing herself?

Twilight groaned, dropping her head on her desk.

"Stupid Cutie Mark Crusaders," she moaned. She lifted her head from her desk, propping it on her hoof.

The Crusaders could technically be to blame for her intellectual dilemma. They had been up to their usual antics when they entered the library, apparently looking for a book on gardening. What they did was nothing unusual, but when they left, Scootaloo had said something that got her thinking.

"_Well your name's Applebloom. Maybe you'll be good at this."_

Those words settled into her brain, itching and festering, until she found herself at her desk, in the middle of the night, trying to write on a topic she wasn't sure made any sense. Twilight blew a strand of hair out of her face and frowned. Was it really possible that a name could be a clue to some pony's special talent? It could merely be a coincidence. Twilight stood up and arched her back, stretching.

"Alright," she said, shaking her head. "Let's start simple."

Twilight grabbed her quill and separated the paper into two columns. In one, she wrote all her friends' names, while leaving the other blank.

The first name she wrote was Rarity. Simple enough. Twilight closed her eyes as she tried to recall the word's meaning. The quality or state of being rare; infrequency of occurrence. Right. She put a hoof to her chin in thought. Rarity's personality was certainly a rarity. Not many fashion designers just _gave away_ their designs. Rarity's fashions could also be considered rare. She certainly had a flare for it. Twilight shook her head. No, that's not it. Now that she thought about it, fashion wasn't actually Rarity's core talent. Her cutie mark wasn't anything to do with fashion, at least, not anything like fabric or shears. No, her cutie mark was a trio of diamonds. Diamonds, that's it. Rarity's talent was finding _rare_ gems. It certainly made sense. Twilight wrote down some notes on her thoughts and put a check by the name, indicating that it fit. Twilight tapped the quill in thought before staring at the ceiling and moving on.

Next was Rainbow Dash. She was a talented flyer. Her core talent was definitely her sonic rainboom. The 'rainbow' part of her name made sense, what with the rainbow effect that tended to follow her. As far as the 'dash' part, it fit not only her talent, because of the speed she possessed, but her personality, too. Rainbow Dash was often the first to respond to trouble. Twilight wrote down these facts, putting a check next to her name, as well.

Fluttershy. Twilight stroked her chin. That one would be a little harder to figure out. Fluttershy's core talent was her understanding of animals. She was the nicest pony you would ever meet, but was also rather shy. Twilight scratched her head with a frown. Her cutie mark was a trio of butterflies. Twilight raised an eye. Butterflies. There might be something there. What were butterflies responsible for in nature? Twilight crossed her hooves, racking her tired brain. Butterflies pollinated flowers. The flowers could then grow into food for other animals. Twilight's eyes lit up. That was it. Butterflies essentially provided for other animals and Fluttershy took care of animals. So how could her talent relate to her name? Well, the way a butterfly flies could be described as fluttering, and they were generally shy creatures. So did the name fit the talent? In a rather roundabout way, yes. Twilight put a check next to the name along with an asterix. She wrote down her notes before taking a look at the next name.

Then there was Applejack. That was way too simple. She was part of the Apple family and her talent was growing apples. Twilight check marked the name. She scratched her head. So far, all the names had matched her friends' personality in some way. Was it the same for Applejack? The 'apple' part made sense, but what about the 'jack' part? Twilight tapped the quill on her desk. The word Jack made her think of playing cards. A jack could mean a knave which, in turn, could mean several things, like a domestic worker or a journeymare. The more Twilight thought about it, the more it kind of fit. A journeymare was a pony that had worked a position and was skilled at it, but wasn't a master yet. Applejack was still learning from Granny Smith. Also, more often than not, journeymares made an honest living. No pony could ever say the Apples didn't earn an honest living. Twilight smiled as she put down some notes while adding an astrix next to the check.

Twilight sighed, looking at the next name. Pinkie Pie, even her name was rather random. There was no such thing as a pinkie pie. Her name was literally two random words, if it was even her real name to begin with. Twilight rolled her eyes. Well, it fit her personality, at least. Now, did it fit her talent? Twilight closed her eyes, her face painted with a frown of concentration. Pinkie's talent was partying. Twilight shook her head. No, it wasn't just partying; she was never that precise, so why would her talent be precise. She had to think general. What would be the fun loving pony's talent? Fun. Pinkie was very good at just having fun. And not just having fun herself, but getting other ponies to have fun. With that frame of mind, her cutie mark fit even better, because most ponies would equate balloons to a fun time. Even her name was just kind of fun to say. It was the type of thing you would tell some pony to say five times fast. Twilight giggled as her mind attempted the feat. She checked the name and made her notes.

She hummed as she propped her head on her hoof. She was rather surprised that there was validity in this theory. Twilight frowned; tapping her notes with her other hoof.

"What about my name?"

Twilight wrote her name underneath the others as her mind focused. 'Sparkle' was easy enough. Generally all magic gave off a sparkle affect. Twilight would be a harder fit. What would 'twilight' have to do with magic? She closed her eyes, thinking back to that book on meteorological terms. Twilight, if her memory served, was the time between sunrise and dawn or sunset and dusk. How could that be related to magic? Twilight frowned as she racked her brain for some sort of correlation. She sighed, before slumping on the desk. Scientifically, there was no correlation between twilight and magic. Twilight shot up, her eyes wide. Maybe, she couldn't find a connection because she was thinking about it the wrong way. Maybe, instead of thinking about twilight as a scientific term, maybe she should think about it in a symbolic way. She looked out her window. What was the symbolic significance of twilight? Well, it was a time when the sun and moon shared the sky. Maybe that was it. The sun represented Princess Celestia and the moon, Princess Luna. The two sisters were the most powerful magic users in Equestria. Her talent, as well as her element, was magic and Princess Celestia had said that Twilight's potential for magic was great. Twilight shook her head, telling herself she still had a lot to learn. No need to get boastful, lest she end up like Trixie. She picked up her quill, resuming her thoughts. Twilight was a time when the representations of the two most powerful beings of magic inhabited the same sky. Given that Twilight's talent was pure magic, it was not that far fetched. Twilight jotted down her thoughts and checked her name off the list.

She smirked. What started as a simple curiosity was turning into a valid theory. Twilight raised an eye. She had to wonder why her parents had named her Twilight. They couldn't have known how her life would turn out. She would defiantly have to ask them the next time she saw them. Twilight looked at the window, shielding her eyes from the morning light. She stifled a yawn, her night of sleeplessness finally catching up to her. She smiled. It needed more research, but there was defiantly something in this name thing. Twilight's eyes spotted the mail ponies at work, specifically Derpy. The lovable mailmare flew along at a moderate pace, a smile on her face, and her eyes focused on what was ahead, as well as whatever was slightly off to the upper left. As she flew, letters dropped out of her bag, a sign of her rather carless nature. Twilight turned to her paper, trying to apply the same process of thought to Derpy. If it worked for her and her friends, it could work for Derpy. Twilight frowned, her mind desperately trying to figure her out. She groaned, slamming her head on the desk. Maybe her theory wasn't as concrete as she thought. Back to the drawing board.


End file.
